Custom and Myth

Page: 44

was adored, and where the old mouse-name lingered. That the mice
were actually held sacred in their proper persons we learn from Ælian.
‘The dwellers in Hamaxitus of the Troad worship mice,’ says
Ælian. ‘In the temple of Apollo Smintheus, mice are
nourished, and food is offered to them, at the public expense, and white
mice dwell beneath the altar.’